


Tony Stark doesn't do teambuilding

by flightinflame



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Blindfolds, Gen, Natasha may be a ninja, Teambuilding, Tony Has Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-17
Updated: 2012-11-17
Packaged: 2017-11-18 20:22:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/564916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve has decided that the group need to do some team building exercises.  Tony is not in the least bit happy about this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tony Stark doesn't do teambuilding

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ShadowHaloedAngel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHaloedAngel/gifts).



"This is stupid and I am not doing it." Tony said simply, his arms crossed as he stared across the gym, at the equipment that Steve had spent all morning setting out. "I refuse."   
"You don't have a choice Stark." And that was Hawkeye's drawl, and of course he was alright with this, because like Agent Romanoff, this was /normal/ for them.

"We all need to do it." Steve insisted, and he rested a hand on Tony's arm. "It's good for the team." He sounded so sincere, because he was Steve, and Steve always sounded sincere and honest. Normally, Tony let himself be drawn in by it, but not this time. He glanced around the rest of the group.

"I am not..."   
"It shall be enjoyable!" Thor's voice boomed, and even Bruce was smiling.  
"You're making Bruce do this?" Tony asked, hoping that he could get his friend a way out of the exercise. Because once Bruce was out of it, he could use it as an excuse to get out himself - after all, five of them doing it meant that it wasn't really a team exercise, and the other four could do it without him.

"I want to do it." Bruce answered with a smile. "I don't think that we are going to do that badly, and it really doesn't sound that stressful."  
"After all that I did for you?" Tony asked, looking at him. "You're a traitor Doctor Banner. A traitor." He frowned, but Bruce was not in the least bit bothered by it.

Steve looked at him.   
"You really ... really don't want to do this, do you Tony?" And Cap's big blue eyes were staring straight into his soul.   
He shifted awkwardly, looking down at the ground and moving around on it, treading down the dust on the floor of the gym.  
"No. But you're looking at me like that. So fine."

"Good." Steve's hand squeezed his shoulder, and he was gazing down at him proudly. Tony felt sure that somehow, he had been tricked. Steve looked so glad. "Thank you Tony. Is anyone here willing to go first?"  
Clint raised a hand. 

"I'll go."   
Steve grinned, assuming that he was eager to start. The truth though was that Clint felt as awkward about this as Tony did. He relied on his eyes, and he hated losing them. He was just volunteering to get this part of it over quickly.

Steve fastened the blindfold over his eyes, and he was led to the start of the course. Natasha took her place at the far side of the course, and Steve and Bruce were on either side. Thor was in charge of moving the planks that he was going to walk upon. Tony was to keep an eye on the time, and to supervise.

Clint was visibly unsteady on his feet as he walked onto the plank, but he obeyed the calls from Nat, Steve and Bruce, trusting their judgement as he moved, with Thor shifting the planks so that he never fell. Tony watched, seeing the time tick by - Steve had said he wanted them to make it in less than three minutes - and feeling sick. Because at some point it would be his turn and he didn't think that he could do this.

The thought of putting your trust in your team, being helpless and having to have faith in them, even if a problem would mean you just fell a foot or two onto soft mats, frightened him. 

Clint jumped off the end of the plank with a flourish, summersaulting through the air to land on his feet with a crouch. Natasha was beside him in a moment, her hands unfastened the blindfold, and Clint relaxed.

Natasha's turn passed easily enough - she was naturally light on her feet, and she listened to the sound of her movement, the echoes on the walls. She could have done it even without the calls of the others, but she at least had the kindness to pretend she was listening to them. Doctor Banner was more hesitant, but he made his way along the planks steadily enough. Thor was a natural, finding it easy to trust, and then it was Steve's turn.

Tony found himself tempted to sabotage it, to say the wrong word, just to see what would happen - he didn't want Steve hurt, but if he could say an instruction wrong, maybe this game would be over. He watched as Steve walked to the end of the plank, trusting Tony, silent.

Steve would fall off the end in four steps if Tony didn't speak. Then in three. Then two. As Steve lifted his foot, Tony called out. "Left!"   
Steve turned to the left, and he reached the end in just over two minutes. So far, only Bruce had been over three, and he was only over by about ten seconds.

Tony took deep breaths as the blindfold was fastened over his eyes by their resident archer. This was stupid. He would trust any of his team in the battlefield, he had to, but this left him uneasy. It was pointless, a waste of time, and really not helpful. His feet froze, and it was only with Clint's help that he even got up onto the plank. His knees were shaking.

This was ridiculous. He knew it was ridiculous. He was told to move, and he had to move. They all trusted him. They had all shown that. He had to do this. 

He started to walk, and he was shaking, feeling sick as he made his way along the plank, hearing his footsteps echoing unnaturally. He hated this. He wanted to run. He wanted to just jump off to the side, and then this stupid exercise would be finished and over. But they were all watching him, all waiting. This was a really, really stupid idea.

When Steve told him to move to the left, he did, and he felt another plank beneath his feet. He made his way along it, hearing the noise of the plank shaking as he trod on it. He carried on, trying not to gag. Because gagging would be silly, this was just a test, just an experiment, a game that Steve wanted to play because Steve was a team player.

"Nearly there..." There was a softness to Steve's voice which Tony clung to as he reached the end of the second plank, and wasn’t that just pathetic, because it was helping and it shouldn’t have been. He carried on, Thor putting a plank down in front and Natasha telling him where to tread. He continued to walk, painfully slowly, Clint calling out times. He already was nearly at four minutes.

"There." Steve called out, and the Captain's hand was on his own, helping him down and removing the blindfold. He found himself holding onto Steve as he tried to relax, taking deep breaths as relief flooded through him. He could see, and he could breathe. This was good.

"You did it Tony." Steve was embracing him, and Tony was relieved. Because he had done it. Because he was off the planks and didn’t need to do it again.  
"I'm sitting the next of these out." He protested, but no one seemed to hear.

**Author's Note:**

> This possibly wasn't what my friend had in mind when she suggested I wrote something with Tony, Steve and blindfolds. I had fun anyway, I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
